I finally finished the update to the Breitenbush River to include the new fish species - Kokanee Salmon.

Kokanee salmon are landlocked Sockeye Salmon that were "stuck" in river systems years ago either by man made dams, or natural dams that cutoff their return path to the pacific ocean. Kokanee have adapted to their new environments by living in the lakes or reservoirs in place of the ocean.

They do not grow as large as their ancestors, but they do make a similar physical transformation in preparation for spawning. Normally, they resemble a trout - silver body, similar fin and body structure. About the only difference is the black line on the jaw. But once they begin their spawnning "run" they turn bright red, the head darkens to a greenish color. They develop of "humped" back and and "hooked jaw". They travel up feeder streams or rivers, or sometimes just head for shallow, gravel bottom portions of the lake.

For the first few years of their life in the lakes, they generally feed on plankton, midges, and larva in relatively deep water - 20 to 30 ft. Once they make the spawn run, they stop feeding, but become aggressive and will hit flies that irritate them or threaten their "redds", or egg beds. Like their ancestors, they die following the spawn.

If you downloaded an installed the previous version of the Breitenbush river, I suggest you delete it entirely prior to installing this version.